Regional Content To Boost OTT Business

With the OTT booming in India and consumers shifting majorly to digital entertainment, a new wave of demanding customers is rising higher in the nation who are constantly looking for personal connection on Over-the-top (OTT) platforms. The revolutionary change is further supported by reports that claim by 2025 regional language consumption on OTT mediums is expected to surpass the Hindi language which accounted for 45 per cent of the total time spent in 2020. To squeeze more into the rising regional content on the OTT space industry, experts came together at the recent India Web Fest Season 5 organised in Mumbai.

The Regional Connection

According to a FICCI-EY report, the share of regional languages in overall OTT video content in India will double to 54 per cent in 2024. Highlighting the study Sonalee Kulkarni, Actor, says the more we do any artwork in the regional medium the higher we are building an authentic base that would further felicitate our nation’s tri colour worldwide. So, for the OTT content if we do significant work in any of the regional languages in India, the content is likely to attract a great business and identity globally, Kulkarni added.

Backing the regional content, Kulkarni said ‘Shwaas’ (Breathe) a Marathi film that made its way to the Oscars in the 2000s played a prime role in presenting the global attention that the talented industry deserved. Today, OTT is further carrying the legacy of supporting creative content in any regional language and Marathi language content is a game changer without any doubt.

The Rooted Impact

It is reported that in 2021 about 47 per cent of OTT originals and 69 per cent of movies released on the streaming platforms were in regional languages.Alarmed by the success of regional content, the OTT platforms are bringing great business. Speaking about the rooted impact, Kranti Redkar, Director and Actor said with profits come responsibility and it becomes important to understand OTT is something working parallel alongside theatres and cinema halls. It’s a personal screen adding humungous revenues and entertaining people in their mother tongue. 

Redkar stressed it is not about making regional content just for a specific region but creativity should prevail over all barriers created by linguistics.

Regional Content And Artists Are Not Celebrated 

Asserting the regional OTT glory, Shashank Ketkar, Actor said the Marathi content is globally acclaimed and has higher potential to attract the masses but the industry is not celebrated nor are the talented Marathi actors. So, this gap needs to be filled, the actor stressed emphasising the same is likely to be carried forward on the OTT space.

He said the majority of us must have observed the charisma of Marathi actors on the bigger screen. Even the characters from Maharashtra are portrayed larger than life in cinema halls; then what restricts the big banners or production houses from making films in the language which is cherished by majority, Ketkar questioned.